Month: June 2008

WHETHER you’re competing or just enjoying, this coming weekend is the time to strap on your dancing shoes.

The county fleadh kicks off in Tulla on Thursday and the line up is im- pressive, with a chance to see both the Tulla and the Kilfenora Ceili bands on the gig-rig in the square on Sunday night.

On Thursday night the courthouse is the venue for the gala concert Where Brian Rooney is performing along with Brian McNamara, Tim Collins, Mick Conneely, Lorraine O’Brien and Eoin O’Neill. Sena- tor Labhras O’Murcht, Director of CCE, will officially open the fleadh on the night.

Saturday night is the céili with Andrew McNamara, Mark Donnel- lan and Jim Corry at Minogue’s at LO eeee

Apart from the many competitions, there is plenty of entertainment for visitors throughout the weekend in Tulla.

On Friday night Peadar McNamara and The Ennis Singers will be in the Power House at 9pm while Kate McNamara will launch her cd at Minogue’s.

On Sunday at lpm Robbie McMa- hon can be heard singing Spancil Hill at Teach Ol. Sunday night is the highlight of the festival with a repeat performance of one 50 years ago when the Tulla and Kilfenora Ceili Bands both competed in the streets

of Tulla for the senior céili band title. There will be set dancing with Aidan Vaughan, half set, brush dancers and sean nos dancers on the specially erected platform from 8.30pm.

The timetable for competitions has now been finalised and first up 1s set dancing in St Joseph’s Secondary School on Friday night at 7pm for the under 12 and 12 to 15 age groups. At 8.30pm the 15 to 18 age group and senior groups will compete.

At 9.30am on Saturday morning there will be the grupai cheoil for the under 15s. This is also the time for the under nine and under 12 banjo competitions, accordion under nine, duets under 12, concertina under nine and under 12, harp under nine, fiddle under 12, flute under 12, whis-

tle under 12 and drums under 12.

Céili bands for the 12 to 15 age group are at llam, grupai cheoil for the under 12s are at 2pm while the under 12 céili bands are at 3.30pm.

The full timetable will be available in the fleadh programme or on www. tulltradfestival.com.

Competitions on Sunday morning start at 10am and the aim is to have all competitions finished by 4pm in time for the hurling semi final.

The grupai cheoil for the 15 to 18 age group 1s the first item on the pro- gramme for Sunday followed by the céili band competition for the same age group at llam. The senior céili band competition is at 12pm along with the solo competitions for the under 18 age group.

A MUSICAL movement which has been delighting children in east Clare took to the stage last week.

The children’s orchestra from Mountshannon National School came to play a fund-raising concert in Ogonnelloe as part of the orches- tra’s move to encourage children to enjoy music.

Now children from Ogonnelloe Na- tional School have joined the music makers. Orchestra director Jantien Vandenberg says that their doors are open to children from other schools who would like to try their hand at playing an instrument.

The Mountshannon school has mu-

sic classes from senior infants on- EN KO Ke

“Most children will start on tin whistle and then move on to other instruments in first or second class,” said Jantien. “Fiddle is a popular choice, then accordion, piano, gul- tar, banjo, drums and clarinet. Every year at the end of the school term we have a big concert where all the children will play in different groups and solos. That’s how our orchestra started out a few years ago. Now they get plenty of practise as they perform several times a year.”

The young musicians play a Christ- mas carol service, at the Christmas Eve Mass and during the nativity play. In February they were invited

to join the Festival of Junior Youth Orchestras in Galway and Clare. The group also played at the Mountshan- non Arts Festival in May. They will be playing in the Aistear again at the end of year concert in June.

There are a number of music stu- dents also involved in traditional groups. Some years the school has managed to put together a band with electric guitars, drums, a clarinet and a Saxophone.

Classes also perform musical shows during the summer concert.

“The main aim is to get as many children involved in and enjoying music at all stages and combina- tions,’ the orchestra director said.

For the Ogonnelloe concert the or-

cestra was made up of children from infants upwards and they played both classical and traditional music.

“We are trying to open up the or- chestra to children of other schools, at the moment we have a few kids joining us in Gort and Ogonnelloe. Any children wanting to join up for next year are most welcome and can contact me. Any donations will be gladly received and will go towards buying a cello for the school,” said Jantien.

IT IS that time of year again when schools from around the county be- gin their annual spring clean before they break for the long summer hol1- days.

For many schools the majority of the work is already complete, as pu- pils and teachers stay ahead of any litter build up and dedicate their time to reducing, re-using and recycling.

And those who are successful with their efforts are rewarded with the

prestigious green flag award. Labasheeda National School last week celebrated its second Green Flag for Energy Conservation. ‘We had to try and reduce our en- ergy use by assessing our usage and coming up with strategies for using

less, for example monitoring of tem- perature levels in the school, closing of doors and windows, installation of a new and more efficient boiler,’ said school principal Liam Woulfe.

“To conserve electricity we moni- tored our usage levels by taking regular meter readings. We then set about reducing our usage by having ‘police’ to ensure that unnecessary light and socket use was discontin- ued,’ added the principal.

“We had a low energy day where we made a special effort to see what was the least amount of electricity we could use in a day,” he told

THE water supply in west Clare is clear of any traces of cryptosporid- Leteee

That is according to Derek Troy, executive engineer with the local au- thority, who confirmed that reported cases of cryptosporidiosis in the west Clare area was in no way linked to the west Clare public drinking water supply.

“On receipt of reports from the HSE that a number of cases had been

reported, Clare County Council Wa- ter Services section immediately put in place testing equipment on both Old and New Doolough water treat- ment plants on April 30,” revealed Mr Troy.

“Both tests revealed no traces of cryptosporidium. On May 20 the testing equipment was put in place again. And again both tests revealed no traces of cryptosporidium.

“Finally, the testing equipment was placed on the Drumellihy Reser- voir, which is the closest reservoir to

the locations on the reported cases. Results revealed no traces of crypt- osporidium,’ he told Kilrush Town councillors.

“Doolough Lake, which is the main source of water for the west Clare area, 18 regularly assessed and is considered low risk by the EPA water supply risk classification for crypt- osporidium,’ he added.

The engineer was responding to questions from Kilrush Town coun- cillor Marian McMahon Jones (FG), who asked for a full report following

10 reported cases of the illness in the last two years.

“I can guarentee those cases are not as aresult of the water,’ said Mr ‘Troy.

Cllr McMahon Jones said she was happy with the response, as the HSE also confirmed that the water was clear.

Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) de- scribed Cllr McMahon’s motion as “reckless” and accused the Fine Gael councillor of scare mongering and causing undue panic.

THERE will be plenty of singing and dancing in Cois na hAbhna over the next two months, but organisers of Ceol na hInse hope that the pro- gramme will engage with the local community.

Ceol na hInse, a series of concerts and traditional music workshops, launches in Cois na hAbhna tomor- row night with the programme’s in- augural concert.

From June until August the Gort Road venue will play host to a mul- titude of award winning musicians and singers which, it is hoped, will draw big crowds.

Domhnal O Loinsigh of Comhaltas

Ceolteoirf Eireann explained that in a Summer season densely packed with traditional events, Ceol na hInse aimed to succeed by establish- ing a connection with the local com- munity in Ennis.

He said, “Its very important for Ceol na hInse that we do have that link with the local community. With the fleadh nua and other events, there is a lot going on.

“But if it doesn’t engage with the local community, a concert or a festi- val won’t succeed. We would be hop- ing that with the calibre of the venue we have in Cois na hAbhna, we will get the crowds.”

Tomorrow’s concert brings together some of the more established names

on the traditional scene for a night of music, song and dance.

The first half of the show will fol- low the format of a regular concert. After the break the focus is on audi- ence involvement

Doreen Norris, the newly appoint- ed Riarthoir in Cois na hAbhna, says the summer show will give visitors the opportunity to experience Clare’s rich musical heritage.

“It is important to showcase the in- credible traditional talent that exists in the region and Ceol na hInse is the perfect vehicle through which to highlight this and it will give visitors and local people an opportunity to encounter real traditional entertain- ment,’ she said.

Cois na hAbhna is the headquarters of the Clare branch of Comhaltas Ceolteori Eireann.

The building was re-opened after an extensive period of development last summer.

A teach cheoil area and conference room were added as part of the re- development.

The most significant addition was the Cois na hAbhna regional ar- chive, established to record, collect and preserve the cultural heritage of local areas.

The archive currently stocks over 1,500 hours of recordings.

Tickets for Ceol na hInse are availa- ble from Cois na hAbhna at 68242276 or at coisnahabhna@eircom.net.

CLARECASTLE rerun John McLaughlin and 17 others will travel by dog sled across 200 miles of snowbound Norwegian country- side in August to raise money for the Clare branch of the Diabetes Federa- tion of Ireland (DFI).

John’s trek is just one part of the Clare branch’s summer fundraising drive, which will be launched in Tes- co’s shopping centre next Saturday, Ut eae

The other major event is the annual 10k sponsored walk, which takes place on August 31 in Lees Road sports and amenity park.

“This year promises to be even

better than last year, although to give credit to the participants of last year’s walk that will be difficult,” said Grainne Flynn, secretary of the branch.

Both the sponsored walk and the dog sledding expedition will help raise much-needed funds that will enable the DFI to improve the lives of people living with diabetes in this country.

John, who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2006, said: “I realised that while most treatments for diabe- tes are covered by the HSE, there is very little funding for research, edu- cation in self-management and for early detection and prevention pro- grammes for diabetes in Ireland.”

The money raised will go towards helping the DFI run CODE – Com- munity Orientated Diabetes Educa- tion and more local programmes.

It will also help the Clare branch to provide free support groups for peo- ple with diabetes and their families.

Services currently provided by the branch include diabetes screenings and education and awareness meet- Tb eae

CODE was developed by the Dia- betes Federation of Ireland as a re- sult of the organisation identifying that many people living in Ireland had poor access to community dia- betes services.

Anna Clarke, Health Promotion and Research Manager of the Diabe-

tes Federation of Ireland, said: ““The philosophy of the CODE programme is based on empowerment, empathy and self-efficacy; it supports people with diabetes through group learn- ing and participation.

“CODE encourages participants to become confident in their diabetes self-care management and aims to improve quality of life through in- formed decision making.”

Sponsorship cards for the 10k walk are available from Peggy Scholdei by calling 087 6415747 or by email- ing clarebranchdfi@ gmail.com.

Those wishing to pledge sponsor- ship to John McLaughlin for the Dog Sledding Trek can do so by calling 086 6142203.

DETAILS have been announced of the third annual Ennis Street Festi- val, which takes place from July 5 to 6. The festival, based in various loca- tions around the town centre, offers a wide programme of events, organiz- ers are confident will appeal to young and old alike. Saturday will kick off with a performance by the interna- tional award winning Mr Toons in O’Connell Square at lpm.

Other events on the Saturday will include the Cork Street Circus, dance workshops at Glor theatre. Live mu- Sic 1S an integral part of the festival and this year’s event offers every-

thing from eastern European classi- cal music to heavy rock.

All events over the weekend are run on a completely voluntary basis and rely on support from Businesses and Individuals in Clare.

On Saturday, Ennis also plays host to the 2008 International Pipe Band Championship. The event takes place in the Showgrounds Ennis and is expected to draw big crowds to the Oi e0k

The championship venue is tradi- tionally alternated between counties on both sides of the border. Ennis beat of stiff competition from Kil- kenny and Limerick to be selected as the 2008 venue.

The event will host pipers from the thirty two counties of Ireland and further afield including USA and Scotland.

On Sunday the gig rig, at Market Street car park, serves as the festi- val’s centerpiece with performances from local band Billy, Clare Youth Centre and a traditional music ses- sion.

Other events in Market Street will include the Ennis farmer’s market and a vintage automobile exhibition.

Brogan’s Bar will host a barbeque with all donations going towards the running cost of the event. Sunday will continue with music from Sam- barrada, Dog and String and street

comedy from the intriguingly billed West Kerry, Italian, Fancini Broth- ase

The evening continues with a string of live performances with the main event, a Cabaret competition hosted by Mr Toons and the Fanzini Broth- ers in the West County Hotel.

The street festival concludes with a performance by Latin music col- lective Armada Latina in Brandon’s bar.

Anyone interested in providing assistance or requiring further in- formation on the event can contact www.ennisstreetfestival.com, email ennisstreetfestival@eircom.net or phone 065 6893966.

PUBLIC opposition to plans to build on the post office field is mounting, a meeting of Ennis Town Council has heard.

Councillors at last Wednesday’s meeting warned of protests against any moves to alter the post office field from its current status as a greenfield site.

There were renewed calls to ex- plore alternative sites including the de Valera Library and the post office yard.

However, Town manager Jom Coughlan told the meeting that an independent report had already rec- ommended against re-developing the CHUM ESN Le) EPMA SI Kos

He also confirmed that while En- nis Town Council would manage the new library, Clare County Council would incur the cost of hiring con- sultants.

Ennis Town Council is looking to develop a new two-storey library at an in-fill site between the post office and St Columba’s Church, Bindon Nl stslel

Independent councillor Frankie Neylon said people in Ennis were opposed to developing the post of- fice field.

He said, “Why was it called a land- fill site between the post office field and the church. As far as I know there has been no vote to change the status of the field. The people out there don’t want it changed. People

are angry. I would like to see the public involved at an early stage.”

Cllr Neylon said the de Valera li- brary should be re-developed. “Why wasn’t the present site of the library considered or the old museum’? There are plenty of areas. You could Open up the museum and extend the library. There is plenty of room.”

Fine Gael councillor Johnny Flynn said he would vote against re-zoning the land.

“The site isn’t zoned for library use. I wouldn’t be voting to have it re-zoned. There was a public consul- tation process two years ago and the public voted overwhelmingly against it. We are going down the road of protest and I would be supporting the protests.”

Councillors agreed in November 2007 to appoint a design team for the library project and prepare a plan outlining any future use of the field.

Mr Coughlan said Ennis needed a new library. “Its to the benefit of the town to have a new and better library in the town. The public consultation process hasn’t even started…If the public consultation process deter- mines that the post office field isn’t suitable, then we won’t proceed.”

Fianna Fail councillor Tom Glynn urged the council to re-consider a site closer to the post office building. Mr Coughlan said he was unsure whether such a site was available. “If anyone has a suitable site that they know is available, they can suggest it to us.”

LARGE tracts of land that run along the River Fergus have been rezoned from limited residential to open space in the new Ennis Development Plan in response to fears over flooding.

In what will render the price of land banks located close to Ennis town centre to agricultural prices, the new draft Ennis Development Plan re- zoned land mainly to the south of the Quin Road business park from ‘other settlement land’ to ‘open space’.

The draft plan — which will be pub-

lished next month — also rezones land bordering Lake Girroga on the north outskirts of Ennis from ‘other settle- ment land’ to ‘open space’.

The lands rezoned ‘open space’ to the south of Ennis now form part of a “development exclusion zone”. This ‘development exclusion zone’ also includes the former Doora landfill. Part of these lands have also been re- zoned from ‘other settlement land’ to “open space”.

The move to create development ex- clusion zones follows the completion of a consultant’s report earlier this

year on flooding in the greater Ennis area which recommended the freez- ing of development on 210 acres of land in the town and its surrounds.

The consultants’ report also rec- ommends the spend of €15 million to carry out works on barrage, river channel and N18 bridge upgrade.

Apart from creating new develop- ment exclusion zones, senior plan- ning officials have resisted the cla- mour for rezoning.

As part of the drawing up of a new development plan for Ennis, devel- opers seeking to profit from rezon-

ings were seeking to rezone a total of 1,720 acres of land around Ennis to residential, mixed use, commercial and industrial.

In the 168 submissions received by the council, the developers were seeking to rezone 1,247 acres of land for housing, 150 acres for mixed-use development, 115 acres for commer- cial development, 57 acres for in- dustrial and 97 acres for low density residential zoning.

However, in a planner’s report ap- proved by County Manager Alec Fleming, the vast majority of the

rezoning applications have been rec- ommended for refusal and the current Zonings are to remain as they are.

Planners held workshops’ with councillors and, after much heated debate, have recommended that only 100 acres be rezoned for housing — well short of the 1,247 demanded by developers.

The planners have also recom- mended that 63 acres be rezoned for industrial and commercial develop- ment.

The draft plan is to go on public display next month.

ONE method of killing that was con- sidered was to put medications which could cause a heart attack into liquor, the trial has been told.

However, this was_ eventually deemed not possible, prosecution witness Teresa Engle told the court.

Ms Engle, partner of Essam Eid, confirmed that she has been given immunity from prosecution in this case, by the DPP.

Asked had she ever visited Ireland, she said she had, at the end of August or beginning of September 2006. She said she was due to meet Ashraf Gharbeiah, a friend of Essam’s, and

she stayed at the Queen’s Hotel in En- ny

“T was here to meet Ash. He was supposed to kill, PJ and Robert, no, Robert and Niall, the two sons,” she Said.

She said that she walked to Westgate Business Park, to see the Howards’ business.

“When Ash arrived, I had the previ- ous day before walked around to the business park to see where it was. Me and Ash walked there,’ she said.

Asked how she knew how to find it, She said, “From directions from Sha- ron.”

She said that Ash had “his own plan. He had several medications that

was supposed to cause a heart attack or for somebody to die.”

She said he was going to put these in liquor. “We’d been to a grocery store and looked at the liquors there. We walked to the business park and he decided the plan was not do-able. I think he left the next day.”

She said that she remained in Ire- land for a few days and then travelled to Spain. She was in Fuengirola for a day or two.

‘I was picking up a key to the apart- ment in Spain. I was to look around and find info for Essam . . the loca- tion . . go see the boat.”

Mr O’Connell asked her which apartment was she referring to and

she replied, “Mr Howard’s apartment in Spain.”

She said the keys to the apartment were left in an envelope for her at the hotel. She said she had directions to the apartment “on an email, from Sharon”’.

She said she sat outside a restaurant, down from the apartment “just to look and see if I’d see PJ or Sharon”.

“At that point I was starting to get sick. I just couldn’t bring myself to go in either. I went back to the room and I went back to Ireland for a day or two,” she said.

She said that when she returned to the US, Mr Eid was “furious, because the plan hadn’t been done. He started

working on a visa to come to Ireland to do it himself.”

Asked where the keys to the apart- ment in Spain ended up, she said that after she was arrested, she went to Ennis courthouse. “I wrapped them in tissue paper and put them in gar- bage in the women’s restroom at the courthouse,’ she said.

The witness said that she met Es- sam Eid in 2003 or 2004 at a time she was separated. They met at a casino in Detroit, Michigan. The two devel- oped a relationship and she moved in with him in Las Vegas. She said they married in Las Vegas. She had pre- viously married another man, Todd Engle, three times.